Archive for the ‘Green Books’ Category

J.R.R. Tolkien’s short story Leaf by Niggle is one of my favourite of his works. Written in 1938-39, and first published in the Dublin Review in January 1945, the piece is often considered an allegory of Tolkien’s own creative process (respected Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey argues in his book The Author of the Century that it functions as an autobiographical allegory).

Adam Dens and his friends have adapted this work into a short, 17-minute film. There are some sound issues here and there, but it’s worth a watch in my opinion. Go check it out. Adam writes: (more…)

Artist Donato Giancola has recently begun work on a new, and very large, Tolkien-inspired painting. It depicts the moment in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion when Beren declares his love for Thingol and Melian’s dauighter and vows to undertake the quest of the Silmarils.

We’ve got a fabulous sneak peek of the work-in-progress for you — check it out below! (more…)

I think it’s a given that 90% of all online quizzes are just rubbish. Which is why I was really surprised to stumble upon this great Buzzfeed Middle-earth quiz that will may actually stretch your Middle-earth knowledge. (more…)

Here’s a transcript of a long but interesting roundtable question and answer session that Evangeline Lilly conducted with a number of reporters on her final day on the set of The Hobbit as Tauriel. As you’ll gather as you read along, the contents were under strict embargo until recently.

The transcript traverses not just her role, but also Lilly’s recently released children’s book, The Squickerwonkers.

BBC Wales have produced an online guide, via their iWonder site and presented by Dr Dimitra Fimi, about how the Welsh language inspired Tolkien, called “Why do the Elves in The Hobbit sound Welsh?”

What does Welsh have to do with it?

JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings combine timeless storytelling with the creation of a mythical world with its own races, history, music and languages.

The invention of new languages went hand-in-hand with the shaping of the characters that spoke them. And while Englishness is at the heart of the Shire, the home of the hobbits, for his other races Tolkien looked beyond England.

Sindarin, the Elvish language used in Peter Jackson’s film adaptations, shares many key characteristics with Welsh. How did a proud Englishman like Tolkien become so entranced by the Welsh language?

The third time’s the charm as our very own Senior Staff writer Clifford ‘Quickbeam’ Broadway is set to deliver an entertaining scholarly presentation on Dec. 10th on the various adaptations of THE HOBBIT that have been crafted over 76 years. In tandem with the excitement of the West Coast Premiere of “The Battle of the Five Armies” local residents of Southern California are welcome to attend this FREE event at the Valencia Library in Santa Clarita, just a little ways north of Hollywood.

The BBC’s Jane Ciabattari writes about the ’60s counter-culture influence of J.R.R. Tolkien. It seems a bit of a reach to call Tolkien a figurehead for the movement, but certainly his works struck a chord — and inspired — with people.

A couple of nitpicks and clarifications:

It’s Middle-earth not Middle Earth.

The note (which is from Letter #226) about the influence of the Somme on the Morannon scenes is incomplete. It reads in full: “The Dead Marshes and the approaches to the Morannon owe something to Northern France after the Battle of the Somme. They owe more to William Morris and his Huns and Romans, as in The House of the Wolflings or The Roots of the Mountains.” (more…)

In our latest Library feature, Tedoras takes up the vexed issue of Tolkien and allegory.

Majesty and simplicity: on Tolkien and allegory

by Tedoras

Tolkien’s disdain, and avowed desuetude, of allegory is widely known by most familiar with his writings. Snippets from essays, letters, and remarks all show the Professor rejecting the notion that allegory is employed in his mythology; instead, Tolkien directs readers to the difference between allegory and applicability. (more…)

In our latest Library piece, TORn reader and Tolkien Italian Network member Gabriele Marconi explores how a 2 minute video doesn’t pay full tribute to a fans love of Tolkien.

Gabriele told TORn, “The point is that a 2-minute time video could not contain nor the smallest part of the reasons why Tolkien is so strongly related to Italy and the Alps, the mountains we know so well (even if Tolkien went through them only from the Swiss side).

That is also why Italy is Middle-Earth, or at least a part of it, “Gondor“, as the very one John Ronald used to say. So I choosed to speak about the famous postcards of Der Berggeist and used them as a spark to tell more about the relations between Tolkien, Switzerland and Italy. Not only the postcards: every opened issue has been deepened in the shape of Q&A”

Over on Wired, Rhett Allain from Southeastern Louisiana University (who has previously analysed the length of the Balrog’s whip) has turned his number-crunching ability to another thorny problem if Middle-earth physics — could the Black Arrow of the movie actually exert enough force to slay Smaug?

(Of course, it does so because it does so … no additional explanation is needed. But I love that Rhett is using it as a starting point to teach folks about maths and physics.) (more…)

Christopher Lee has precisely one line in the recent trailer for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, but his little cameo was an unsurprising winner with fans. And, apart from reinforcing that stuff is always better with Chris Lee (maybe Chris can do all the voices for BOTFA — that would be ace!), it also sparked a surprising amount of speculation about Saruman’s intentions in desiring to confront Sauron alone.

Now, we can’t say how the confrontation occurred in canon: we know little more than that the White Council put forth its strength, that Saruman played an important role, and that Sauron deliberately withdrew as he had anticipated and planned for the actions of the Wise. Had Sauron, in fact, already fled? It’s a legitimate interpretation of the texts. However, Tolkien’s writings are a lot more informative about when Saruman “left the path of wisdom”. In this feature, Tedoras examines what The Lord of the Rings, Unfinished Tales, and The Silmarillion have to tell us about Saruman’s fall.

Our friends over El Anillo Unico have assembled this outstanding analysis of the content of The Battle of the Five Armies preview that you can find in Appendix 9 of The Desolation of Smaug Extended Edition.

We’re delighted to be able to bring you a full English translation of their thoughts and speculation. Note: any mistakes or errors are mine, not theirs.

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